Good in the Eyes
by PlatinumLolita
Summary: Laura always seeks what is good in the eyes of Ashera. However, when Edward comes along, she's not so sure. Laura X Edward, mostly about Laura. Rated T just to be safe. Be on the lookout for Ilyanna X Leonardo!
1. Chapter 1

Edit: The chapters get longer by chapter 3, I swear!

And here we have a FE fanfic of EdwardXLaura and a little of LeonardoXIlyana. Inspired by my support convos, which did not at all include Aran. No Aran. He's just too friendly to fall in love with Laura, and that's why I gave support to Edward. If you want Aran to be in it, push the back button and look elsewhere. Tough noodles.

For now, chapters will not be frequent. But on the twenty-third of June, I will be out of school with a new laptop and I promise more frequent chapters. And better cookies.

Here we go for the first chapter. Review, and you get cookies! ...Ahem...

* * *

**Chapter 1**

It was a lovely late spring evening. The birds sang of their new eggs, changing weather, and the arrival of mysterious man-things living in strange upside-down nests of the finest twigs that a bird could imagine.

The Dawn Brigade had arrived here. They were full of chattering, haggling, and joking that none of the birds were familiar with. They spoke in the incoherent tongue of the Beorc race, full of strange twists and turns, and most birds figured that they often bite their tongues off. At this, nature left the man-things of Beorc to their own strange lifestyle, as it usually does.

One such Beorc, a very young woman named Laura, had made it routine to spend time at a grand oak tree not far from the camp. Every morning at four o'clock, the little priestess would sit at the base of the tree and pray to the goddess of order, Ashera. She would pray for safety in battle, courage that she did not have very much of, and the divine direction to do what is right in the eyes of Ashera.

Mid-day was for reading. Laura would sit at the base of the tree and read books from her expansive collection. She read the _Book of Divine Laws of Ashera_ the most, leaving her other books about healing and practical medicine to wait.

Afternoon was spent in the kitchens, where Laura would wait and try to distract her friend Ilyanna from the sin of gluttony and the pains of her neverending hunger. She would make special effort to sit in-between Ilyanna and Leonardo, smug with the knowledge of his feelings for the starving girl and apt to make him keep his hands to himself. She was always striving to be helpful, as Ashera had commanded.

She would spend a while after supper among friends, like Ilyanna, Aran and Micaiah. They would joke about trivial things, haggle with the merchants, and tell stories of their family. On one such evening, she had made the dire mistake of asking Edward.

"So Edward, how about your family? You seem not to discuss them. Are they well?" she inquired.

Edward winced inwardly and suddenly left at a brisk pace, unable to control his unusual shaking.

Leonardo leaned in to whisper to her, "he hasn't got one."

This deeply troubled Laura, disturbing the meal that sat inside her and the water that was soon to overflow in her eyes. She always knew of her loving family, and couldn't imagine the pain involved in being an orphan. That night, she prayed exclusively for Edward, so that he may find closure with the aid of the goddess. Her sleep was disturbed and hindered as she tossed and turned on her cot in the tent that she shared with no one.

"Poor Edward..." she murmured to herself, as small tears fell down the sides of her face.

* * *

A note to my readers:

The procedure for me is type, skim over, upload, publish, then edit. Maybe edit again based on reviews. So don't be put off by short/incomplete chapters.

And now it's time to start baking cookies for my reviewers. If I get three reviews, I promise to write another chapter before school lets out. How's that sound? And as a bonus, I will make the last chapter the whole story so you can save it to your digital book readers. Sound good? Then take the damn cookie and tell me how you feel!

[Tetris addict out]


	2. Chapter 2

So it's as I promised. You get it today because of your stinking laziness... Or lack of interest... *cry*

I'm on such a roll today with ideas!!! I've got my idea notebook here and it's melting open! (that's a hint, mind you. =] Figure out what it means before it's too late!)

**Chapter 2**

The next morning, Laura was awakened by her pocket watch. The cheery little tone it produced served as a reminder to her; it was a hymn to Ashera. She didn't actually need to be reminded, but it helped her to feel as if she had returned to her village. She sorely missed everyone at that village... the friends she had made... the small children... Being in the Dawn Brigade was almost painful for her.

Laura slid out of bed and slipped on a fresh cloak and her boots. Books in hand, she hummed the little tune to herself for a while, stealthily dodging other tents so that she would not wake her comrades.

The third time she completed the hymn, Laura was reminded of poor Edward with a pang of her endless sympathy. She broke into a dash for the tree, silently weaving a plan in her mind.

She sat, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and began to speak to the goddess of order.

"Oh great Ashera, eternal one who rules that which shall be, please give me strength and courage! I must run to his side and comfort his broken soul... And may you favor him in battle always. Amen." She stood and ran back to her tent, retrieving a large spool of woolen thread from a trunk of her possessions.

Laura then tiptoed towards Edward's tent, which he shared with Leonardo. She lifted the tent flap, careful not to wake the agile archer who always slept with his bow knocked, and tied the end of her string around one of Edward's boots. She knew that he was a restless young man, and he woke not much later than Laura did on occasion. Sometimes she would watch him staring at the stars by a closer tree, the feelings of desire slowly muddling themselves about her emotions and clouding her judgment.

She left the tent and ran the string around six or seven trees, and stopped at her own grand oak tree. She then ended it with her sharp dagger and tied the end to one of the standing roots at its base. Finally, she sat and opened one of her books about the human mind and intently read a passage about a very strange phenomenon. It told her about the lengths at which men go to ignore emotions and dispense great amounts of energy to hide them, save for love and hate. It baffled her to great lengths.

_Perhaps he hides his sorrow behind a grand façade of friendliness,_ she thought. _No matter. The string is moving._

Sure to the evidence of the vibrating string, Edward emerged from behind a shrub and stood in shock and confusion at the figure that sat at the base of a very large tree.

A/N and Cookie Box:

Hooray for Mamoo for reviewing! I certainly will!! That's a promise!

I was gonna include the hymn, but it just turned out to be too cheesy and I would have been put to shame. I also used some two stupid words like a bajillion times in a row! Glad I edit. Seems I'll be pouring out a bunch of tiny chapters instead of sparser, bigger ones. Too bad that Ilyanna ate all the cookies...

I'm finishing off with the final edits at one in the morning on Sunday, the twenty-first. I just gotta figure out how to make these longer. I also need to get used to the tiny keyboard on my new laptop. By the way, yesterday my cat died, the girl I asked out is almost ignoring me, and my brother was busted for trying tobacco products. If the chapters suck, get over it or make my life less awful. At least school is over now.....I miss that cat...

Ilyanna: And I'm still SOOOO hungry!

Leonardo: Glad to see you're feeling well.

Ilyanna: When will the torture end?

Laura: When you finally list all of the different geometric shapes! So let's get started, shall we?

Ilyanna: GAAAAAH • _ •

Edward: I wish I had a family...

Laura: What's that?

Edward: N-nothing! It's just something I heard somebody call a spoiler alert. Like that one at the top of the- oh never mind...

Laura: Stop talking gibberish! That's nowhere in my dictionaries!

I promise these will get better. School is over and I have my own laptop, giving me plenty of opportunity.

By the way, the next chapter is coming really soon! No waits!!

[Until next time... Silent rice... Holy rice... All is calm... All is rice...]


	3. Chapter 3

Ok so it's almost one-thirty on Sunday morning and I just have to keep writing. Maybe you get the next chapter sooner than I had planned. I'll try for shorter cookie boxes and longer chapters...

Edit: Yay I HAVE VIEWS!!! SIXTY OF THEM FROM AROUND THE WORLD!!!! THIS IS SOOOO COOL! So review, damn it! You can even review after the story is complete!!! And I almost forgot this, the disclaimer. All previous and following chapters contain material that I DO NOT OWN!!! Is that good?

Edit: Ok so I'm finishing this chapter at Starbucks, but I need to wait to get home or else I have to buy ANOTHER orange juice with some dumb member card to get Wi-Fi. That's f'ed up, Starbucks! Free is as in beer, and yet we have to buy it and only get two hours a day! I suppose now it's "free as in Wi-Fi." =p.

**Chapter 3**

"...What was that all about?" Edward asked, breaking a long, awkward silence full of staring.

"...Ummm... I..." was all she could return. She stood up rather ungracefully.

"Spit it out. You're disturbing me..." He inched closer, to within three meters of her.

"Ah... Oh, goodness! You have terrible burns!" She stepped in quickly and grabbed Edward's left arm. He released a strangled gasp.

"How did this happen to you? I thought I saw these before..."

I-it's nothing. Nothing at all!" He yanked his arm back to his side with a pained cringe.

"Silly girl. Ehehe..."

Unfortunately for Edward, Laura had always known that he was a terrible liar. He was too honest to hide anything.

"Please tell me what happened," she pleaded, groping in the weak moonlight for her mend staff.

"Well... it's difficult to explain... and well... I... umm... some people fish... others umm read... books? ...And I guess I-"

"Oh will you please get to the point? Ah, there you are."

"Like when they're sad?"

"Mhm," she returned, with confusion scrunching her features as she examined his round, scalded marks.

Edward continued awkwardly, "and others read books and stuff. I'm sure you do that. Right?"

"Mhmmm," she returned, silently frustrated that this was going nowhere.

"And you see, I... well I-"

"What on Earth are you two doing up this early?" came Aran's irritated voice from a vague silhouette some twenty meters away.

"Sorry, friend!" Laura shouted back. "Don't think I'll just forget tomorrow. And let me heal you before we go back."

"N-no, that's not very necessary! Don't waste that on me! I-I'll just sleep it off! Heh, yeah! So l-let's go back now so I can get to that sleeping."

Laura raised an eyebrow. "The sun is coming up in only a short while. It's the summer solstice next week." She absentmindedly began to chew on a fingernail.

"Oh yeah," Edward mumbled, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Oh look, it's Ilyanna! Hi there! Oh she's got something cookin'!"

"As usual... Goodness, she's not even fully dressed and already she's eating..." She knew how desperate he was to change the subject. His heart began to pound nervously, and sweat was visible on his brow when she inquired about his mysterious burns. She gave in and decided to snoop around later. Laura and Edward walked over toward the kitchen tent, her hand twitching at the thought of it inside Edward's.

"So whatchya cookin' today?"

Casually, she listed, "oh, just a pot of beans, three bacon egg and cheese à la croissant, six pancakes, two fried chicken legs and a baked potato with extra butter and sour cream. So what are you having?"

"...Maybe some eggs..." Laura obviously kept to a diet, or else her sin of gluttony would be indulged and her shape altered.

"And Edward eats eats food-food for mister little stomach today food food foooo0000d??"

He ignored Ilyanna's lustful hunger. "Um I-I'm not... aah..."

"What's that? Six strips of bacon? Or was it seven?"

"Y-yes, seven it was!" He grabbed a handful of greasy bacon off of a pan, ignoring the burning sensation, and proceeded to stuff them all into his now gaping maw. He chewed the mass of grease and pig fat with a great struggle.

"Oh now that's not polite!"

"Mmmmm umm-"

"Please finish chewing first! Goodness."

Laura turned her head and sat in a chair, picking at her eggs with a fork. _If he's got problems, I certainly hope I can help with at least this one, _she thought.

After he forced down the last bit of bacon, "I-I'm sorry. I just wanted to please her... She takes much pride in her cooking."

"Well, I suppose that was appropriate." She turned her head further to hide her, yes it is, blushing face. She of all holy priestesses was blushing! But what for? Was it because of Edward? He was so _handsome, _even when his mouth was stuffed with bacon. And he did just that to please Ilyanna, even though he wasn't hungry. She was blushing in the presence of her _handsome gentleman_!

VXVXVXVXV

_It's time for philosophy studies! _Instead, Laura decided to spend her four o'clock snooping. She strolled about the obscured side of camp., sneaking on her hands and knees toward the tent that Sothe shared with Micaiah. She peeked underneath the canvas material and promptly averted her face, covering her ears to avoid invading their rather intimate acts. She nearly ran away into the forest, only halted by the recollection of her original intentions.

She came here to snoop on Edward. Laura had made sure that Leonardo would be busy helping Ilyanna to wash her many used dishes. Zihark was off hunting, and she knew too well that Sothe and Micaiah were very busy.

_I'd better have Ilyanna cook their meals with saltpetre... We can't have pregnancies in war. _She was so considerate, it was almost a systematic procedure for her to be solving problems in little ways such as this. She examined every dilemma with clinical eyes first, saving sympathy for personal situations. This attitude was among the first lessons that Laura had received in her training as a priestess and as a physician. She was taught that it was good in the eyes of Ashera when a servant of hers aids others with such precision.

Laura worked her way, unseen closer to Edward's tent, which she was drawn to by its peculiar glow of candlelight. _I told him that it was the summer solstice; he doesn't need that thing! How wasteful... _She edged closer, strange murmuring laced with strangled gasps reaching her ears. She gave it no mind, instead concerning herself with what she now realized was two candles inside his tent.

She finally was within two meters of the tent, and she began seeing motion of one of the candles, in somewhat of a synchronization with the agonized uttering. She gently lifted the tent flap opposite of Edward's view and peered in. She couldn't help but release a horrified gasp.

Instead of finding Edward fornicating with Mia as she had suspected since three days before, she found Edward leaning over a table, dripping candle wax across his left arm. His agonized and emotionally scarred face was soaked with tears, their salty flavor ignored in place of the wax that mingled with blood upon the tender section underneath his tensing arm. His upper body convulsed as every drop landed on him, releasing a strangled gasp that died down to quiet sobbing as the next drop prepared its scalding tortures.

Laura stood and flung herself into the tent, removing her staff form a loop at her waist before crashing into an open trunk full of candles and matches. She stood, ignoring the bruises that she received from her fall, and raised her staff toward heaven, its icy glow engulfing Edward's form and extinguishing the candles. In seconds, the aura released him and dissipated, leaving Edward with an unburnt arm. He turned his head to the wielder of the staff that healed him, tears still falling down his face, extinguished candle still held horizontally above his outstretched his arm. He dropped the candle and hid his face in his trembling hands, ashamed and vulnerable.

Laura grabbed his shoulder and raised him against her silhouette, pressing him into her in an embrace of that dreaded emotion, sympathy. His tears and blood stained her cloak as he smothered himself into her shoulder, her hand pressing gingerly around his head. "Wh-who were they? Who they... Who w-were they?" he kept murmuring.

* * *

Yes, I did it. I absolutely did it. Repulsed? Good. It builds character. Thanks to GummyDice for reviewing. So review, damn it.

Let's have a little history. Ahem. This is all out of my original support pair, Edward and Laura. They seemed to me to get along really well in conversations, so I gave them class A support. It went well, with an awesome healer and a swordmaster to use whenever. I also gave support to Ilyanna and Leonardo, but Leonardo got killed in some chapter. I didn't get much use out of him, so I didn't restart the chapter. I promise not to kill him in my story, though! He was sort of a jerk, not giving her any food when she begged for it. Oh well... It's to be expected from canned responses. Poor Edward. What's left for him? An eating disorder? I dunno...

Ilyanna: So he eats from his arms? I wish I could do that...

Laura: Just promise to eat normal food, okay? Remember when you ate all those nettles? That was awful! Try for nettle tea next time.

Ilyanna: What? Um I was thinking about Leonardo just now... he makes good beef... nice and tender..... like his lips...

Leonardo: (blinks, blushes, slides hand someplace) My dear, I believe you have given away a spoiler alert.

Anyways, I'm planning a Leonardo X Ilyanna chapter later on. And just as well, somebody PLEEEASE review and tell me which battle I should do, and I'll do a battle for you people of the world. Fair enough? But it's gotta be in part 1, because I haven't advanced to part three yet. (**ashamed**) I may just do the one with the balistae. Remember?


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks go to the kind GummyDice for taking the time to review. Here it is, my friend! Sorry this is late. I had an operation done on my toe.

Soooo... I guess here's where we left off... Edward got caught being candle-emo. And I'd like some reviews. I know for a fact that most of you speak English, but I accept French reviews as well. Ok to be honest, I was gonna post a complaint chapter instead of this one, but I suppose it's usual for Fire Emblem fics to have very few reviews. I wish there were more of us on this.

**Chapter Four**

_Greater Crimea University's Dissertation of Negative Psychology_

_Eating Disorders_

_It is not uncommon for a subject to develop eating disorders as a result of trauma. Subjects often develop these to replace their current psychological issues with physical ones. It is important to note that eating disorders are not typically developed because of any negative medical history; as such, it is treated like that of a psychological disorder._

_Subjects can develop the following:_

_Anorexia-- This is an eating disorder that occurs mostly among the youth who undergo severe and stressful changes. These can include a death of a family member(s), puberty (as stated in Chapter 4, Chemical Imbalances Associated with Growth Patterns), or change in scenery resulting in discomfort (possibly in relation to various obsessive-compulsive disorders, see Chapter 9)._

_Anorexic subjects avoid food as a way of controlling themselves. Their grasp of control is the only comfort that they are capable of producing by themselves. They often associate food with gaining weight, and thus being outside of control of their own bodily functions. Avoiding food altogether is a way to cope with being outside control._

_Starvation is the usual cause of death in anorexic subjects. See Dissertation of Death, volume six of the series._

"So there's nothing wrong with Ilyanna, then."

Laura kept a list of problems she found, neatly indexed relative to dates. She kept a notepad of other peoples' problems! Laura rationalized that as a rather defensive unit of the brigade, it was a job, an obligation, to eliminate stress and allow her comrades to focus on their most important tasks.

The others had labels like "Obsessive Compulsion" or "Needs Dermatologist Examination." Ilyanna was indexed under "Metabolic Extremity," but Edward waskept under "Anorexic."

Laura had noticed that recently, Edward was appearing to avoid mealtimes, only lightly snacking at unusual hours. This resulted in his unusually often visits with Ilyanna at the kitchen tent. Laura didn't really care about his eating patterns as much as she did about his time spent with Ilyanna.

As Edward consumed less, Laura worried more. She was so very intoxicated by the simple presence of him, and she honestly felt that she deserved it the very most. However, he was giving it to _her_!

She wanted to do very nasty things to that girl.

She didn't care about what Ashera had planned for her life.

She wanted him. She was going to defy her values to obtain him.

This was her first taste of lust.

She would go to sit at the tree, bringing her textbooks, but she would never focus. The letters printed on them blurred day after day when her thoughts wandered to him. That gorgeous _bishounen _face, the slender yet muscular figure..... She could only dream of that handsome, boyish face against hers in some intimate act out of one of her romance novels. Her heart would ache and bleed for him throughout the slow days at camp, which seemed to be more numerous recently.

Was it the yuriplague reported in further areas?

She didn't really care, as long as she ate, slept, and read in the same camp as him.

VXVXVXVXV

Aran was poking a dead squirrel with a stick. In his left hand, he held an orange card that he was peering at intently. His head tilted this way and that as he attempted to decrypt the strange characters donned with strange accents written across the card. It had a nice red trim, like that of a frame holding a portrait of some fat duke someplace.

_Why is he misusing a card like that? Is there a card that revives dead animals? _Thought Laura as she approached. "You clown. Whatchya doin, kneeling on the ground with that twig?"

"I found this neat card thingy on the side of the road, and Ilyanna says it brings the dead back to life! I wanna see my grandmother someday."

Sothe came by. "No, no. She said it _zombifies _the dead. That isn't very useful."

_Edward,_ thought Laura.

Zihark came and inquired, "what's all the fuss about? Has that squirrel got the yurah plague?"

"Oh no, silly," Micaiah piped in. "It's the _yuri _plague. Anyway, zombies are a myth encouraged by overseas nations, having been-"

_Edward's face._

Aran stood. He held the card to Leonardo, who just came by to have a look at the commotion.

"See this? It's for reviving dead grannies, isn't it?"

_Edward bathing last Tuesday._

Laura was gaping at all of them, not hearing the debate. She simply stood, wide-eyed.

"It's German, my friend. Where on Earth did you get that precious rarity?"

"Germany, bah," came Sothe's skeptical tone.

"No, really! One of the nations that sank into the ocean after the-"

_And he was naked._

Finally, Ilyanna came out of the kitchen tent. "What's all this then? Uh... Laura? Are you alright?"

Aran shrank back. "Uhh... Tell them it gives back my granny!"

"What nonsense! It clearly says in German, for use with-"

_And I saw him bathing last... Tuesday....._

Laura's face was as blushed as a tomato. She leaned on her staff and tilted her head

to the side. While the debate about the orange card continued, Nolan and Edward burst out from underneath a tented pavilion.

"You brat! Cheating _my_ backgammon game!"

Edward retorted, "those were that snooping merchant's pair of dice!"

"You just _had _to win, didn't you?"

"I swear it's a Dutch card!"

"Dutch? No, it looks like-"

_Edward... Edward. Edward? ...Bathing in the stream..._

"Holland was also a myth, although it was used as a-"

"OOOOH EDWARD!"

Everyone stopped the commotion and turned to see Laura, red as a ribbon and staring at Edward, who was also blushing.

"E-Edward... I... aaah...."

She fled, and Edward followed.

* * *

Yes, the yuri plague. Guess what that's for! Wow. Laura will be so traumatized. Maybe Edward will start eating again...

Leonardo: See? We are the only smart ones in the entire camp!

Ilyanna: ...Yeah.... Wonder what's Laura's problem.

Leonardo: It doesn't matter... *leans in, all intimate like*

Ilyanna: No, no! You skipped a step! You have to stare at me first! ...Like this...

Laura: EDWARD! EDWARD! OH EDWAAAAAARDDDD!!!! EDWARD LAST TUUUUESDAY!!!1 OOOOOH AAAAAH EDWARD!

Leonardo: Gah, singing in that damned shower again... Hmm.....

So review, or else you will catch yuri plague! Ok stop reading this is creepy! Review in five minutes, wait half an hour, press F8 and your crush's name will appear on your screen in big letters! Ok stop reading this is sooo dangerous! Review in thirty seconds and your crush will make out with you on the closest friday! But if you don't review, tonight, when everybody is in bed, the shower will turn on and you will hear Laura!!!! Now you're stuck! Review or else!

Aran: So _that's _what the card is for!

Ilyanna: If only it could let me continue uninterrupted.


	5. Chapter 5

Well, I don't want to keep going with the story for much longer. I want to have closure, and I want it now. It sucks not having reviewers. Maybe there will be a sequel some day, but not any time soon. I am seeing an increase in views with strange trends... Will the views predict the futures? Well anyway, they fled into the trees and left everyone dazed and confused. Nice job, children! I've gotta get the Leonardo x Ilyanna in soon. They're getting feisty...

**Chapter 5**

They fled, red-cheeked and embarrassed as the sky turned gray and filled with dismal clouds.

"What did I do?" came Edward's confused and panting voice.

"I-I umm... Aaah..."

"Is it your period, then?"

It was indeed. She was stressed, and he detected it. They both sat at Laura's favorite tree and leaned their bodies against it, in need of rest from running.

"You don't have to say it..."

He didn't have very much luck left, however.

"I'LL KILL THAT BITC-"

"Wha?!?!" Edward demanded in a half dazed stupor at Laura's unbelievable character change.

"You know who! That gluttonous little slut!"

He was quick to defend. He clutched her right hand in his two, locked his eyes, and said, "she is madly in love with food and you need to calm down. Haven't you noticed she keeps fancy to few men at all? You always pay attention to everything."

She pulled her hand away and nervously fiddled with a charm on her staff, averting her eyes. She was so ashamed, it seemed she could cry.

"I haven't noticed, no. Is it that big of a deal? Ehehe... Sh-she can do whatever..." She was caught stammering and she knew it!

To break the awkwardness, Edward casually leaned his head against the tree and sat on his knees. "You know, I've got a secret I aught not tell," he said slyly, almost impishly in his smug demeanor.

"And what might that be?" she said, easing a bit.

"Well... It stays between the two of us. That's most convenient. All right?"

_Is this the moment? Oh goodness! How's my hair?!? _she thought frantically.

"A-all right. It stays between the two of us."

"It's about Leonardo."

_WHAT?_ She had expected so much more. So as not to break his obvious smugness, she kept the disbelief to herself.

"I saw them together..."

"Do tell!" She was, after all, a girl. She adored gossip.

"Ilyanna takes fancy to Leonardo! I can totally prove it, too!"

A wave of relief and comfort washed over Laura at that comment. She eased up and let her girlish nature overtake her with excitement as Edward continued with the story.

"So they were together at that night last week in the mess hall. Remember? We were celebrating, having won that totally impossible battle."

"Mhm."

"Yeah, so and Ilyanna had one too many to drink, ya know? And Leonardo wasn't so dry either."

"How shameful! That's such an awful habit!"

Edward stretched out his legs and leaned more comfortably against the tree.

"Yeah, you should have seen the two of them! Those guys know how to party! Anyways, they were dancing. Leonardo dancing! You better believe it! The kid won't even smile unless somebody falls on their face, and here he is with his hands in Ilyanna's and on her hip, and they're all drunk and stumbling around!"

"Huh! Would ya believe it!"

"Sure would! And afterwards, we were all sitting out by the main pavilion. And I couldn't help it. I had had a few myself, and you know those make you curious. Well, maybe not you..."

"Nah, it tastes foul! And it runs the breath."

Laura was in her element- a total girl gossiping with the young man she daydreamed about many times. She eased herself into the tree, assuming a comfortable position that she once napped in a while ago.

"Well anyways, I saw them go off behind the little cluster of caravans with the cozy fire pit dug in the center. You know, Ilyanna has her room in one of those. I wanted to see what they were mumbling about, so I slipped away from the party and climbed on top of one of those wagons."

"Oh goodness! What were they talking about?"

"Would you believe it, they were all cuddled up against each other, kissing and whispering junk! The only thing you see Ilyanna kissing is cutlery, and Leonardo has his nose against those books all the time!"

"Ooh! I can't fathom!"

"Me neither, at first! I can't believe they had it in themselves! Well, not Leo, anyway. She was so aggressive! But the things they were saying, you'd just die! He just wanted to make her feel like the Queen here! Oh, you make all the maidens in the countryside turn green with envy! Oh, you smell of flowers that make even flowers jealous! And she was just loving it!"

"Wow. How sweet of him! That's just beautiful. What went through your head?"

"Well," he said uneasily, blushing a bit, "I won't lie."

"Yes?"

"I was thinking about you."

_Oh!_

"Oh..." She just stared at him. She brought her hand to cover half of her face in disbelief, but Edward would have none of that. He gently slipped his slender fingers underneath her concealing hand, a warm glow of incredible comfort radiating from his tender grip. Of course, that gentle hand was a bit uneasy. Edward was incredibly nervous.

_Was this the reason for his-_

"I'll admit this, the reason for my eating disorder is that I thought you were celibate or something. I've finally come to accept being parent-less. But it's written on your face."

He set her hand, firmly but gently, down to the grassy floor. Just as gently, he placed his left at her shoulder.

In a gentle, soothing voice, he murmured, "I love you with all my heart."

Suddenly, that hand on Laura's left shoulder seemed to burst into a fiery torrent of relief, its loving glow engulfing her soul. She lifted all her inhibitions and entered into a lethargic ecstasy and let that gentle release of their burdens soothe her stressful world. She slowly closed her eyes, tilted her head forward, and accepted his warm, tender embrace.

And without warning, the heavens let loose buckets of rain. Each of the countless drops screamed and unleashed a loud slapping orchestra against the ground. Without having to consider, Edward broke the embrace and opened an umbrella that his hand seemed to brush over, concealed in a knobby enclosure in the roots of the tree. He opened it and again closed the gap between the two of them, the umbrella and his body providing warmth and comfort for the young lady that he wanted to spend all his days with.

After about thirty seconds of hugging and inhaling each others' scent and drinking in each others' warmth, Edward broke the moment and released her.

"Here's a novel idea," he said in little more than a whisper. "How about we do what _they_ were doing?"

Laura gasped with excitement, her eyes widening as Edward leaned in, took the back of her head and kissed her gently. She lost all hope of seeing and shut her eyes, lacing her arms into his as he continued his gentle kiss. He broke it and proceeded to prod his tongue easily into her mouth, dropping the umbrella a bit.

* * *

Shall I continue? I will if asked. Or maybe I'll make a sequel so I can change the rating a bit (evil smirk). I'd like to thank GummyDice for her (or his, for all I know) kind and objective reviews. I wouldn't have kept going if it weren't for you. I'd love to contact you in some other way. (Facebook me!)

Find Chris Lorieag on Facebook and tell me that you are GummyDice, I will accept it.

You rule! Thank you so much for caring!


End file.
